[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam":3,"chapter-young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-chapter-303":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},500405,755,"Chapter 303: Trust Among Comrades","young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-chapter-303",303,"\u003Cp>Man, this was exactly why I liked his character... almost as much as I hated it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the game, Michael started out as a petty yet good-natured, strong but naïve, imperfect yet loyal-to-a-fault protagonist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had opinions, sure. He got annoyed and he sulked. He held grudges sometimes — no, hegrewhis grudges — but he also forgave just as easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had many,manyflaws. He was dishonest, even with the people closest to him. He was stubborn, and he got far too confident in his strength after gaining Xaldreth’s power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made mistakes. So, so many mistakes. But that was exactly what made him relatable to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because what man was truly perfect? We all have our faults, and we spend our entire lives working through them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We fuck up, and we learn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was exactly the kind of protagonist Michael Godswill was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You could love him or hate him, but youhadto admit that, at his core, he was simple in the way only genuinely good people were simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to help everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to protect everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to believe that if he tried hard enough, things would turn out right for everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And over the course of the game, he grew. He learned little by little from each mistake and resolved never to repeat them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So while he began as a naïve fool, he quickly learned to read people after being punished for his shortcomings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Not unlike the time I reeled him into committing arson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hey, in my defense, that was pretty tame compared to how other characters manipulated him later in the game!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahem, anyway, like I was saying, I liked him because he learned. He adapted. He stopped being passive and started taking charge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In simple words, he just got better at being the main lead he was supposed to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like now, for example, when he baited me into revealing far more than I should have known, without getting me to say a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it would be a complete lie to say I wasn’t at least a little proud of him for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good job,\" I said, nodding in genuine appreciation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael looked utterly confused, as if he’d expected me to deny it or dance around the subject a bit longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t bother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Because, in all honesty, I’d wanted to have this conversation with him anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why I’d been leaving breadcrumbs for him to follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah. It was all intentional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously, I wasn’t stupid enough to talk openly about things like Demon Princes and the Spirit King while hoping he’d never ask questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had been deliberately disclosing information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t just slip up like a moron when I asked him to teach me Essence Channeling. No, I knew he was cautious. I knew he had never used that technique in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, when I asked him to teach me, it was on purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, I know what you’re thinking.’But Sam, why in the world would you do that?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the moment theNight SanctuaryMassacre happened, when it finally dawned on me that I’d made a colossal blunder... I realized something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t keep pulling strings from the background anymore. I, too, needed to actively participate in the story if I wanted to change its ending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I couldn’t do that alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sister’s words kept echoing in my ears.\"...In real war, it’s not about lone heroes. It’s about armies. A king without an army is just a fool with a crown. And when the whole world is against you... you’ll fall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As much as I hated it, she was right. She had always been insightful like that. She had seen right through me and mercilessly exploited my weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking back on her words, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how painfully stupid I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon enough, events would begin spiraling far beyond the reach of a single person’s control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bend them to my will, I needed proxies. I needed subordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed... pawns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, life wasn’t a simple game of chess. This was also something I fully realized after theNight Sanctuaryincident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in real life, pawns had feelings. And feelings were variables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t just move a pawn against its will. Even if Idid, it wouldn’t be efficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why I needed these pawns totrustme. Trust me enough to march into death at my command. Trust me enough to act without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that meant only one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t treat them like pawns anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to treat them like people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah. It disgusted me to even think of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What do you mean I had to offer basic human respect to everyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to treat them with inherent dignity, kindness, and consideration, recognizing their fundamental worth and autonomy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a load of crap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was the irony of it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To build an army that would follow me into hell itself, I couldn’t lie to them endlessly. I couldn’t keep manipulating them from the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t reduce them to disposable pieces the way you do in a game of chess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this wasn’t a game anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Michael — frustrating, righteous, stubborn Michael — was the perfect proof of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t someone you could control for long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear wouldn’t work. Deception wouldn’t work. Power wouldn’t work either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he’d turn on you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So to avoid a scenario where he was your enemy, he had tochooseto follow you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why I needed him, and all the other main characters, tochooseme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed their undying fidelity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I began, \"Do you remember when we fought, and I fell and slammed my head against a rock?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael shifted in his place, going from mildly surprised by my praise to visibly restless... for reasons I didn’t quite understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, uh— sorry,\" he said uneasily, then bit his tongue, like that red-faced response stunned even him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Yeah, why would he apologize for that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a fucking weirdo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gave him a look and continued. \"Anyway. When I woke up in the hospital, I had some... revelations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brows furrowed. \"Revelations...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah. As in visions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...V-Visions!?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded. \"Flashes of a future still to pass. Of a life I hadn’t yet lived. I watched things I was too powerless to stop. I witnessed events that transpired beyond my control. At last, I... saw the world end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael blinked at me like he was staring at a madman. He stayed silent, until his frown hardened and his eyes narrowed. \"That’s stupid. Your power isn’t even related to—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember when I told you Selene would teleport us out ofNight Sanctuarybefore she did? Remember how I suspected the High Priest of Ishtara without any evidence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He froze. Then his eyes were blown wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrugged. \"Yeah. I saw the destruction of Ishtara way before it happened. I tried to warn you all. I had no proof, but Iknewthe church was involved somehow. I didn’t know about the Overload, my knowledge is very vague. But IknewIshtara would burn if I didn’t try.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed softly. \"So I tried. And it burned anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pressed a hand to my face, acting like the weight of it all was hard to bear. \"I knew about theNight Sanctuarytoo. I tried to stop it, Michael. I really did. But I stopped nothing. Fate, it seems, has a way of snapping back into place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard him lean forward uncomfortably beside me. My acting was impressive, if I did say so myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, he murmured, \"Wh-Why didn’t you—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell anyone? Say something? Asked for help?\" I finished for him. \"Who would’ve believed me? Doyoubelieve me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stayed silent as his eyes darted to mine, searching for the sincerity behind my words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension was palpable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he wasn’t dismissive anymore. He was contemplating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I pressed just a little more. \"I can even tell you about what’s coming. The next big event will be the assassination of Willem and Alice, the royal twins. That will spark a massive rift between the Monarchs and trigger a world war. The Ascent Isles will fall. The Northern Safe Zone will be destroyed. Then I saw all the Demon Princes, even the one sealed inside your sword, descend upon the world. And at the end of it all... I saw the Spirit King waking up from his slumber. Once that False God is revived, everything will be destroyed.Everything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept my narration intentionally ambiguous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That way, from now on, I could justify any strange action I’d take with this so-called mysterious knowledge without ever admitting more than I wanted to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sam...\" he said slowly. \"If even half of that is true, then—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"—then it explains a lot,\" I cut in gently. \"I know. So the real question is, do you believe me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I met his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked conflicted, jaw tight as he glanced away. The two Cards he’d been idly playing with until now stilled in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hesitation was expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, I’d just told him I’d seen the end of the world and had been acting on that knowledge alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded ridiculous, even to my own ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what other explanation was there?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How else could I have known about the Demon Princes? How else could I have known about the techniques Michael hadn’t even shown me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And most importantly, how else could I have known about the Spirit King, when even the Monarchs barely knew about him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, my story had holes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t need his full belief yet. All I needed was just a crack, and I’d slowly work my way from there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come on,I thought.Say it. Say it. Say—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll believe you,\" he said at the end of that long pause, turning back to me, \"when I see what you’re talking about happen with my own eyes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Got him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed and put on my disappointed face. \"That’s fair, I guess.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hook, line, and sinker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time this journey was over, I’d make sure that my pawns—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.I corrected myself immediately.My comrades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, that felt weird on my tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—would never again have the luxury of doubting me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the first obstacle I’d use them to crush would be that boggy pig.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jake Mel Flazer.\u003C\u002Fp>",1711,"2026-05-30T12:03:22.768Z","2026-06-01T04:31:10.979Z",1,"novelbin.me","2887a9b76fc81ed6fcb711ea8208e9da3db15ae88ad4d5f3c1fa7528552695bc","young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-chapter-304","young-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-chapter-302",407,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fyoung-master-s-pov-woke-up-as-a-villain-in-a-gam-cover.jpg"]