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I Became the Mastermind in a Dark Fantasy Chapter 1

Trash Sorting

1.

 

“Guys, don’t you think this is a bit much?”

 

In the dim light of dawn, a man asked softly in a worn-out hideout illuminated only by the faint glow of the moon.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you? Trash needs to be thrown away on time.”

 

A thoroughly mundane scolding.

Even his voice, though reprimanding, was as gentle as if he were scolding children.

 

But why was that?

 

“…I apologize, Captain. As the Vice-Captain, failing to properly oversee the members is my fault. I will take this insignificant life of mine to atone.”

 

Clang.

 

The Vice-Captain barely finished her words when the other two members pulled out their daggers, following her lead.

 

The daggers were the simplest yet sharpest weapons among the gear bearing the emblem of the <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps they belonged to.

 

“Thank you for everything until now, Captain.”

 

There was no hesitation in their actions.

 

!!

 

With fluid motions, the three turned their daggers toward their own necks.

 

The gleaming blades, the moonlight streaming in, the dust suspended in the air.

 

At the very moment when the blades were about to pierce their necks—

 

“Stop.”

 

A cold voice halted them in their tracks.

The man rose from the wooden crate he was sitting on and approached the three.

 

“Stop doing useless things and just take care of the trash properly. Understood?”

 

He nonchalantly added as he glanced at the other two.

 

“Especially you two. Make sure to sort the trash properly. I’ll be watching.”
“…Sort the trash? …Oh! Yes, Captain!”
“I will never disappoint you again!”
“Good. That’s how it should be.”

 

The man withdrew his crimson gaze and rose to his feet.

 

“Dismissed. Keep the dawn exercises moderate. As always, return before breakfast.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Thank you, Captain!!”
“No matter what, I will never disappoint you again!”

 

Though the atmosphere was grim during the early morning assembly, it ended just like that.

 

After sending the members off, the man returned to the hideout and collapsed onto the bed.

 

“Haah…”

 

This man’s name was Nahan.

 

And—

 

“…I want a late-night snack. Chicken and beer, preferably.”

 

The character he had possessed was also named Nahan.

 

He was a 25-year-old man who had ended up transmigrated in the cursed novel <Babylonia>.

 

“Waking up at dawn sucks so bad. Even the military let us sleep until 6:30.”

 

The reason this perfectly ordinary man got possessed? Pure curiosity.

 

– What’s this? The author has a new novel out?

 

After speed-reading up to the 15 free chapters, he decided to check out the fan community for spoilers before paying for the rest.

 

[General Discussion] Babylonia Spoilers Included

 

The Empire is utterly corrupt. The Hero Party, sent to defeat the Demon King, stages a coup and just comes back. They’re about to slice the Empress’s neck at the buffet when some shady bastards (probably the masterminds) intervene. They kill those guys, the Empress, and then basically everyone. The end.

 

– Buffet? What the hell? Want to fight?

– How did you even finish reading it that fast?

└ Are you a prophet?

└ Right? The paid chapters only go up to the coup.

└ (Author) Do I need to see more to know?

└ How would you know if you don’t read?

└ (Author) I came from there.

└?

 

Attracted by the strange person, I impulsively picked up my keyboard.

 

└ Don’t lie, lol.

└ (Author) I’m serious. If I’m lying, no possession.

└ ? What are you even saying?

└ (Author) = The possession I’m talking about is you.

└ ? Wait, hold on a sec—what do you mean by that?!

 

And just like that, I was possessed.

 

In other words, I ended up inside a novel I barely know anything about.

 

Thankfully, there was some good news:

 

Main Quest

 

Just survive.
: Prevent all bad endings and save the <Hero> and the <Empress>.

 

Bad endings prevented so far:
: Current count… [2 / 15]

 

Reward:
: Return to your original world.

 

“Already at two? Did they update while I was sleeping last night?”

 

Apparently, just sitting still in this world somehow prevents bad endings on its own.

 

On top of that, as a special perk of being a “possessor”.

 

“View information, Nahan.”

 

At the request of the Savior – <Nahan>, the system displays information on the specified individual!

 

Name: Nahan

– Alias: Incompetent Mercenary Captain (Temporary)

– Rank: C-rank Mercenary (Temporary)

– Info: Sold to the underworld by his impoverished parents during childhood. [Somehow] managed to scrape by and eventually rise to become the leader of the D-rank mercenary corps, the <Black Wolf>.

 

 

【Number of bad endings to be prevented before next information unlock… [2 / 3].】

 

Although there are some restrictions, this allows me to peek into the information of other characters as well.

 

‘So I should just stay put and lay low.’

 

Dodging incoming threats via the system and waiting for all bad endings to be erased seemed like the safest plan.

 

The Nahan I possessed?

 

He’s just the leader of a mere D-rank mercenary corps, <Black Wolf>, with a C-rank rank at best.

 

‘And when I checked, wondering if I should rely on the team, their ranks were all D-rank. The Vice-Captain, Lactea, is barely C-.’

 

Meanwhile, the Hero Party from the prologue? They’re S. If I foolishly try to stop bad endings head-on, the scenario would play out something like this:

 

– Who are you?

– Oh, I’m not suspicious! I just came to stop a bad ending.

– ?

– What, you don’t know what a bad ending is? Oh man, it’s suuuuuper scary.

 

Slash!

 

My head would definitely roll.

 

To make matters worse, the author of <Babylonia> is notorious for writing dark fantasy, so the stakes are even higher.

 

In any case, the plan is to stay holed up in the D-rank mercenary corps until all the bad endings are prevented.

 

“Let’s just endure this.”

 

Hold on long enough, and I’ll go back home.

For now, that’s all I need.

 

 

“…Though, wasn’t it a bit much to scold them at dawn just because they didn’t take out the trash?”

 

Nahan pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

 

“No? Not excessive at all.”

 

Since possession, for over a month now, Nahan had been solely handling the recycling and food waste.

 

Even though his attempts to speak up usually ended with everyone panicking and apologizing profusely, he had kept his cool and avoided scolding the members—except for the first two times.

 

“Living together means sharing the chores too.”

 

With a sigh, Nahan laid back down.

 

But unable to fall asleep, his mind kept circling back to the fact that he had scolded them at dawn.

 

“…How much meat do we have left?”

 

Deciding to put in some effort and prepare breakfast, Nahan got up and headed to the kitchen.

 

But his resolve was short-lived.

 

Hah. These jerks just left.”

 

The trash they had blatantly refused to clean was still scattered all over the kitchen.

 

“Is recycling really that hard…?”

 

Staring at the mixed garbage and food waste, Nahan let out another deep sigh.

 

Ding!

 

At odds with the grim situation, a cheerful notification sound popped up.

 

Congratulations!

 

Due to your actions, the bad ending – <3. Sewer Rats (B+)> has been prevented!

 

Bad endings prevented: [3 / 15]

 

“Oh, it went up again on its own.”

 

The happy news of a bad ending being prevented immediately cooled Nahan’s anger.

 

Twelve more to go.

 

“Auto-hunt is the best.”

 

If I just sit tight and wait, I can go back to my home sweet home!

 

“…Hah, yeah, I’ll return to my original world anyway.”

 

Enduring a little inconvenience now to enjoy advanced civilization again later seemed like a fair trade. Besides, these kids might be dumb, but they weren’t bad people.

 

Until then,

 

“Guess I’ll just clean it up myself.”

 

With a grunt, he got to work.

 

A month had passed since the possession.

 

“…Wait, what choice did I make back then?”

 

A new morning dawned for Nahan, the C+-rank captain of the D-rank <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps.

 

2.

 

Meanwhile, elsewhere, it was still dawn.

 

Rewinding to just a little earlier.

 

“Disperse. Morning exercise should be light. Return as usual before breakfast.”

 

After finishing the brief conversation, Nahan returned to the base. Once he was out of sight, the vice-captain, Lactea, pulled a notebook from her pocket.

 

Morning Roll Call: No issues.
Special Notes: Dispose of trash on time.
Assigned Members: <No.3 Tal>, <No.4 Persona>.

 

After jotting down her notes, Lactea approached the two individuals still kneeling before her and whispered:

 

“If you disappoint the captain again, I’ll kill you both… and then myself.”

 

Her golden eyes glimmered coldly beneath her long platinum hair.

 

“Answer me.”
“Y-yes Sister. Don’t get mad.”

 

The blonde-haired girl swallowed hard and nodded.

 

Baaaaang!!

 

The man kneeling next to her, No. 3 Tal, slammed his head into the ground.

 

Rustle.

 

When he lifted his head again, a thick, beast-like mask had been fastened onto his face.

 

“I accept─this punishment.”

 

The mask, large and fitting for his massive frame, gleamed faintly with blue light from within.

 

“Whoa, don’t scare me like that!”

 

Smack!

 

No.4, Luna, smacked Tal on the back of his head and clicked her own mask into place.

Waving cheerfully at Lactea, she said.

 

 

“We’ll make up for it and be back!”

 

Lactea nodded, and as if that was a signal, the two disappeared.

 

 

A few minutes later.

 

“…? How did you get in here?”

 

Crunch!

 

“Ah, don’t smash it like that! Be gentler!”
“Refusal─impossible.”

 

The rising crime syndicate of the Empire’s capital, known as the <Sewer Rats>.

 

“Intruders!!”
“Who are they!? What do they look like?!”
“M-masks…? Don’t tell me!!?”

 

They were criminals who had gathered under their leader, <Hansen>, violating even the underworld’s <Code> as they committed all manner of heinous acts.

 

“Oh crap… it’s them. It’s Tal.”
“It’s Tal!! Everyone, run!!”
“…It’s no use, you idiots. If those two are here, it’s already──”

 

Crunch!

 

“Hmph. You’re famous, Tal.”
“Better─unknown.”
“Right? Oh, that one’s trying to run.”

 

The <Sewer Rats> had grown so rapidly that neither the Empire nor the underworld could easily touch them.

 

“Don’t come closer!! S-stay away, you monsters──!!”

 

Snap.

 

“──Ack.”

 

And yet, in just 10 minutes.
Only two intruders.
They were wiped out, all but their leader.

 

“F-F*ck … Please, spare me. I’m begging you, pleeease…!!! I’m the boss here, okay? You want something, right? Yeah? I’ll give you whatever you want, just spare my life!!!”

 

Hansen, the lone survivor, cowered at the farthest corner of his bunker, desperately pleading.

 

“Persona─this─target─yes?”
“Yup, that’s the last one.”
“Understood─confirmed.”

 

Crunch!

 

It was a futile effort.

 

“Objective─complete.”
“Sure is! Let’s go get breakfast now?”
“Hungry─agreed.”

 

Despite being a group that even the Imperial Guard couldn’t deal with easily,

 

“Shouldn’t─keep Captain─waiting.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Can you stop nagging already?”
“Not─nagging. Direct─advice.”
“Fine, fine. Got it. Now lift me back onto your shoulder. I don’t want to step on these bodies anymore.”
“On─it.”
“Woohoo! Thanks, Tal!”

 

The masked giant and the blood-covered woman casually exchanged mundane words as they spun around and left the scene.

 

“You’re so stubborn… Ah, wait!”

 

Suddenly realizing something, Luna turned to Tal with a worried look.

 

“W-we were told to handle the trash sorting properly.”
“…Trash─sorting?”
“Ugh, I don’t know either! Captain didn’t explain it in detail… Come here, let’s figure it out together.”
“Head─together. Brain─boost.”
“Ugh, feels like I’m getting dumber instead.”

 

The two pressed their foreheads—no, their masks—together and began brainstorming.

 

“You think so too, right? We’re on the same page?”
“Affirmative─confirmed.”
“Alright! Let’s get started!”
“Trash sorting─engaged.”

 

They immediately began their “trash sorting.”

 

Of course.

 

“Ugh, I’m telling you—bones, flesh, and organs go separately!”
“Head, chest, abdomen─yes.”

 

Their efforts were wildly off from what Nahan had intended by “trash sorting”.

But…

 

“Whatever! Let’s just do it the best way we can!”
“Understood─compliant.”

 

Snap!
Crack!
Crash!

 

Somehow, they got the job done.

 

.

.

.

 

Notification

 

Bad endings prevented: [3 / 3].

Some conditions met. Temporary access to certain information unlocked!

 

.

.

.

 

Name: Luna

– Alias: Unavailable (Temporary)

– Rank: D-rank Mercenary (Temporary)

– Information: Gifted the alias <No.4 – Persona> by the secret society <Black Wolf(?)>. Upon activation, estimated rank post-transformation: <S->.

 

Name: Han-Ryang

– Alias: Unavailable (Temporary)

– Rank: D-rank Mercenary (Temporary)

– Information: Gifted the alias <No.3 – Tal> by the secret society <Black Wolf(?)>. Upon activation, estimated rank post-transformation: <S>.

 

.

.

.

 

“Ugh, which lunatic spat out chewed meat into the trash can…? Gag! Seriously, is trash sorting that hard?”

 

.

.

.

 

Time expired.

Unlocked information has returned to a locked state.

Next bad ending – <4. Black Wolf (B+)> has been set as the main scenario.

 

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I Became the Mastermind in a Dark Fantasy

I Became the Mastermind in a Dark Fantasy

다크 판타지의 흑막 수장이 되었다
Score 8
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2025 Native Language: Korean
I didn’t know. “We killed all the trash just as the Captain wanted!” “He told us to take care of it, so we cleaned it all out.” “Order. Carried out─with utmost resolve.” I just thought they were a bit ... dim-witted. “Kyahaha, Captain, can I kill more!?” Not that they were S-rank monsters.

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